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Published January 13, 2015
WEB.COM TOUR - TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, Dye's Valley Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida - The Web.com Tour's inaugural playoffs conclude this week with the Tour Championship at Dye's Valley Course.
This event will serve as the final chance for players to earn a PGA Tour card for next season.
The top 25 from the regular season tour money list already have their PGA Tour cards for 2013-14, but are still playing for priority ranking. The next available 25 from the finals series money list will also earn their PGA Tour cards for next season.
Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship winner and playoff money leader Seung-Yul Noh will not be in the field this week as he has already clinched his PGA Tour card and has returned to his home in South Korea.
That means several players can replace him atop the standings this week with a win. The playoffs money leader is guaranteed a spot in next year's PLAYERS Championship.
Ten of the top 30 players on the finals money list have already earned the card through the regular season money list, meaning players have to finish inside the top 37 of the playoff money list to secure their PGA card for next season.
Last year, Justin Bolli, who entered the championship at No. 44 on the money list, fired a 6-under 65 on Sunday to win the season-ending event and secure a 2013 PGA Tour card.
Bolli will back to defend his title this week. Bolli lost his PGA card for next season after finishing 131st on the PGA Tour's money list. He has missed the cut in his two Web.com playoff appearances and will likely need a top-five finish to regain his PGA Tour card for next season.
Golf Channel will have television coverage of all four rounds.
EUROPEAN TOUR
ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP - Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie & Kingsbarns, Scotland - The European Tour moves to Scotland this week for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Branden Grace capped his wire-to-wire victory last year with a 2-under 70 on Sunday to secure his fourth European Tour victory of the season. The South African began the tournament with a course-record 12-under-par 60 at Kingsbarns on Thursday and rolled to the win from there.
Four-time major winner Ernie Els leads a star-studded field that also includes major winners Rich Beem, Michael Campbell, Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Paul Lawrie, Shaun Micheel, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Vijay Singh.
The Dunhill Links is played over three courses -- the Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and the highly-regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links -- as professional golfers are teamed with amateurs to compete in both individual and team events.
Harrington is seeking to earn his third title at this event, having won both the individual and team championships in 2002 and 2006.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all four rounds.
The tour moves to France next week for the Seve Trophy, which Great Britain & Ireland won for the sixth consecutive time in 2011 with a 15 1/2 - 12 1/2 decision.
The team tournament consists of players from GB&I against a team from the rest of continental Europe.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
NATURE VALLEY FIRST TEE OPEN AT PEBBLE BEACH - Pebble Beach Golf Links and Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey Peninsula, California - The Champions Tour returns to the mainland this week for the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.
Last year, Kirk Triplett closed with a 6-under 66 to come from behind and win by two strokes over Mark McNulty for his first career title on the Champions Tour.
The first two rounds of the tournament will be split over Pebble Beach and Del Monte as the Champions Tour players competed alongside juniors from the First Tee program.
The top 23 juniors after the second round will then play the final round at Pebble Beach alongside their Champions Tour counterparts.
Golf Channel will have coverage of all three rounds.
The Champions Tour will have off next week before moving to North Carolina for the SAS Championship, which is the first of two straight events in the Tar Heel State. Bernhard Langer fired a 9-under 63 on Sunday to come from behind and win the SAS Championship by two strokes over Jay Don Blake in 2012.
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